Please help me understand how to choose the right memory for my computer

[g335]

Hello

I am going to buy the AMD 8350 soon and wanted to know how to choose the correct memory for my computer build.

I understand about how some of the speeds work, 1333, 1600, etc.

But I do not understand how the timing effects games or use of the computer and what times I should set or choose and if I need to overclock the ram or not.

I will use the computer for gaming, 2D and 3D creation and rendering.

 

[Shockeray]

Really, exact timings don't make that much difference. 10-10-10-24, and 10-10-10-27 are really the same performance-wise, just incompatible.

The fist number in your RAM timing is your CAS Latency, or CL. It is the one that determines the speed that information can be retrieved from the RAM in clock cycles - of course, if you double your speed (800MHz to1600MHz) but half your CL (CL 6 to CL 12 [half speed is a number twice as big]) your RAM is going to retrieve information just as fast. But as your MHz goes up, you also get more bandwidth (not really sure why).

If you have a really stable 1600MHz RAM card and overclock it to 1866 or 2133, you have to bring the CL up so that it doesn't burn out your card, thus OCing RAM doesn't make it faster, it giver you more bandwidth.

Hope this helps.

 

[Shockeray]

I would be getting about 16Gb for doing the creation and rendering, but I'm sure you already knew that.
This RAM kit is quite well known for being stable when OCing...
G.SKILL Sniper Gaming Series CL9
Or, if your not OCing, these are cheaper, and still really good...
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB CL9
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB CL10

 

[g335]

Really, exact timings don't make that much difference. 10-10-10-24, and 10-10-10-27 are really the same performance-wise, just incompatible.

The fist number in your RAM timing is your CAS Latency, or CL. It is the one that determines the speed that information can be retrieved from the RAM in clock cycles - of course, if you double your speed (800MHz to1600MHz) but half your CL (CL 6 to CL 12 [half speed is a number twice as big]) your RAM is going to retrieve information just as fast. But as your MHz goes up, you also get more bandwidth (not really sure why).

If you have a really stable 1600MHz RAM card and overclock it to 1866 or 2133, you have to bring the CL up so that it doesn't burn out your card, thus OCing RAM doesn't make it faster, it giver you more bandwidth.

Hope this helps.

Thanks
What numbers should I look for when choosing ram?

I would be getting about 16Gb for doing the creation and rendering, but I'm sure you already knew that.
This RAM kit is quite well known for being stable when OCing...
G.SKILL Sniper Gaming Series CL9
Or, if your not OCing, these are cheaper, and still really good...
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB CL9
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB CL10

Thanks

Can I buy ram already clocked at 1800mhz or higher?

 

[Shockeray]

Yes, but what speed of RAM you can get is determined by your motherboard. Your CPU may limit the voltage of RAM you can get (with an i7 you can only get 1.5V RAM).
If you post your motherboard, I'll look up what you can get.